


Rachni War

by Enchantedtalisman



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Reality, Fluff, M/M, Rachni Wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-08-11 01:26:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7870189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enchantedtalisman/pseuds/Enchantedtalisman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard is pretty sure he'll die on this damn planet (the only blessing is that it's not like most Rachni-infested worlds and actually a garden world).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rachni War

**Author's Note:**

> Definitely have a thing for Cortez/Shep/Kaidan. I just wish it didn't feel like I was missing something while writing these. Maybe I should write smut fic...
> 
> Anyway, hope you like this, I've always kinda been fascinated by the Rachni War and I like writing it as if the Reapers never happened and the Rachni War happens after humans join space flight.
> 
> (Did the second draft of this really quick so I might have missed something or an odd phrase, I get excited to post stuff and well...)
> 
> <3

The Rachni war is a bloody, difficult, and tedious war.

For every Rachni Shepard kills, another three pop up from the ground, and it feels _endless_.

Shepard is pretty sure he'll die on this damn planet (the only blessing is that it's not like most Rachni-infested worlds and actually a garden world). His squad had been split at least a month ago, if not longer; Ashley and Liara both part of a new squadron of mixed races who had hopefully survived and weren't dead somewhere on this fucking planet.

Shepard shakes himself out of his thoughts. The morning light breaking through the trees, he had overslept. Shepard eases out of the tree he's sitting in carefully, sure Rachni could climb trees, but trees were a lot safer than caves or being on the ground.

Nothing is nearby that he can hear, no noise of any kind which isn't...good, but most of the wild life hadn't prospered during the war.

No, just quiet, and Shepard carefully drops down, a barrier forming around him instantaneously. (The only good thing about this war was his biotics were much improved)

A loud screech echoes through the forest, and Shepard ducks on instinct, there's no familiar green acidic bile but he rolls away and moves towards the screech—better to get rid of any Rachni nearby, they will follow him for miles, if he doesn't deal with them now.

“Watch it!” A male voice, sounded human, in the distance where the screech had originated.

Shepard passes several trees before reaching a clearing where the ground is burnt from Rachni bile, and two Alliance soldiers stand back to back.

Seconds to absorb the battefield before Shepard let's biotic energy fill him and _Charges_ into the nearest Rachni. The biotic heavy punch breaks into it's armor and gushes blood.

Shepard's barrier pops and sizzles from the blood. He slams his other fist into the ground sending a _shockwave_ forward into the Rachni, killing it, and sending the Rachni behind it into a tree. “Don't stand there or you'll get shot with more bile!” He yells at the two soldiers before _Charging_ into another Rachni Soldier.

Charging is exhilarating, but always dangerous, Shepard can't stay still, but needs to keep track of everything happening on the battle field. One mistake in the early battles on this planet left him with a swath of skin missing on the left side of his abdomen, the skin there is still scarred even after a heavy dose of medigel.

The two soldiers seem to be handling their own, and Shepard keeps his attention on disorienting and distracting the Rachni.

A Brood Warrior Rachni appears when there are only three more Soldiers left.

“Fuck.” The...Sentinel, Shepard is pretty sure the soldier is a Sentinel, raises his assault rifle.

Shepard misses his assault rifle, it's not easy finding thermal clips when Rachni don't use weapons. “Keep the other three busy I've got the Brood Warrior.” Well, he thinks he does. He normally blasts them with a heavy _shockwave_ and flees the scene, Brood Warriors are a bitch to fight alone.

The Engineer creates another drone. “Robert will help you.”

Shepard doesn't want to ask why the drone is called Robert. Instead he focuses on the Warrior. Rolling away from a bile shot; he _Charges_.

Not even a scratch when the punch connects, the Warrior screeches and turns towards Shepard.

“Fuck.” Shepard slams his fist into the ground and _Nova_ bursts his barrier sending the energy into an arcing wave and staggering the Warrior.

The Drone beeps and shoots a rocket at the Warrior.

Shepard ducks and rolls, using a pull to grab a fallen tree and block another projectile of bile. He _Charges_ again.

Claws shoot toward him, and he doges them mid charge, using the superior agility of his biotics and sending a _shockwave_ into the ground ahead of him. He barely dodges another claw.

Shepard doesn't see the other claw whip around but he feels the heavy blow to his head that sends him skidding through the dirt and falling into unconsciousness.

 

“ _You're_ the field medic, what do you mean you don't know if he'll live?”

Shepard tries no to groan when he wakes up, everything from his head to his chest is agony. It's similar to the pain from when a Rachni startled him out of a tree and he landed on his head and spent three hours hobbling away and sending _shockwaves_ into the ground to survive. He groans and covers his face, it hurts.

“You awake?”

Shepard opens his eyes, the Sentinel is above him, looking worried. “Yeah, wish I wasn't. How am I not dead?”

“You might die if Kaidan doesn't figure out if you have anymore wounds.” The Engineer from earlier says.

Kaidan glares at the engineer, “I told you my omni-tool got hit by that bile, the scans aren't working properly. But it looks like you're not at deaths door and it's been an hour so I think you're fine. Cortez I swear if you open your mouth.”

Shepard blinks and groans again, too much to process right now, and closes his eyes. “You didn't explain how I survived.”

“Kaidan covered you, it's how he got bile all over his arm.” Cortez's voice is nice, soothing in the semi-darkness behind Shepard's eyelids.

But he has to see Kaidan's wounds so, with a grimace, Shepard opens his eyes again and carefully reaches out and grabs Kaidan's arm before the man can react. Definitely a burn, but not bad enough that Kaidan will lose anything. Shepard sits up with a pained hiss, tears at the edge of his eyes.

“Stop moving, you're still injured.” Kaidan places his big hands against Shepard's chest.

Shepard grunts and doesn't move the hands, because a part of him like sthe feel of another human after so long without contact, and pulls out the meager supply of medigel he has in his belt. “Here, this should heal it up. It'll probably scar like hell, though.”

What? No, save it for yourself. I'm fine.” Kaidan tries to pull away.

Shepard is faster, grabbing the man's hand, careful to grab the unburnt skin, and delicately starts rubbing the medigel into he burn slowly.

“Fuck that hurts.”

“Kaidan?” Cortez is suddenly crouched over them.

“Relax, you have to rub the medigel in so it seeps into any muscles that might have been burnt. If you just coat it it won't sink in.” Shepard glances up and for a second it's hard to think because Cortez has the prettiest eyes he's ever seen.

“So, we were fighting the Rachni, and then dealing with the Brood Warrior...What's your name?” Kaidan asks, wiggling his fingers.

Shepard blinks at Kaidan, and flushes, he's just been massaging one part of Kaidan's hand that's not burnt while he stares at Cortez. “Shepard. Name's Shepard.” He takes another dab of medigel and keeps working up Kaidan's arm.

“Are you part of Ashley William's squad? She's been putting a fire up the chain of command trying to get back to you. Hell, we didn't think you'd be alive...no offense.” Kaidan winces right as the words leave his mouth.

Cortez huffs, “Williams and T'soni have been trying to get back down here ever since they were admitted into a Citadel Hospital.”

“I'm glad they're okay.” Shepard says, biting back tears, he's relieved, so relieved his teammates are alive and well. A constant worry in the back of his mind since he lost sight of Liara and Ashley was that they would be a rotting corpse inside one of the tunnels under the earth.

“Yeah, they're fine. You can come back to our ship, get clean at our cabins and rest up there.” Kaidan says, clasping Shepard's hand in his own.

Shepard raises his brow at Kaidan, “Sure?”

Cortez rolls hie eyes, “I think my boyfriend's trying to flirt with you...badly. Took him three times to ask me out.”

“Shut up.” Kaidan flushes.

“Oh.” Shepard wants to pinch himself but the pain is still there a constant ache in the back of his head and down his spine. “I...okay?”

Cortez raises his brows and shakes his head, “Maybe..think on it?”

“Yeah.” Shepard goes back to working on Kaidan's hand and arm. Tries not to think about finally getting of this planet or...a date.

Thinking about it makes his chest feel tight and hard to breathe.

The past three weeks have been endless with Rachni. With acid and pain, and scars, and worry; fear and anger. Romance, well, he can tell already that he wants something with the two...but _think about this later Shepard_. He blows out a heavy breath.

 

 

Kaidan and Cortez's ship is not nearby like Shepard had hoped.

No, it's far enough that it takes them five days of fighting through more and more Rachni Brood Warriors to reach the ship.

Shepard falls asleep the first day by himself, Kaidan a few feet away, and isn't sure how it happens but wakes up when Kaidan gently disentangles himself from Shepard's arms. He tries to apologize but Cortez just takes Kaidan's place without a word.

There have been so many nightmares, they don't go away not miraculously or suddenly, but having Cortez or Kaidan to wake too is...a relief.

When they finally reach the ship and it lands, Shepard isn't really surprised that his mind is made up, hell maybe he already decided days ago, “Okay.” He says.

Kaidan glances back at him from atop the steps to the ship, “Okay?”

“That date.” Shepard rubs the back of his head. “If you two still want it.”

“Of course,” Cortez says and winks, “Do I get a kiss or should we save it for the date?”

Shepard snorts and pulls Cortez into a kiss, it's quick because Shepard hasn't been able to brush his teeth since the second week when he lost half his supplies, but before he can pull away Kaidan is turning Shepard's head and kissing him.

“Definitely an okay.” Shepard says, feeling the arms of both Kaidan and Cortez wrapped around him.

Shepard feels safe.

**Author's Note:**

> In case some people didn't play me1 or missed it, Brood Warrior's only start attacking in droves when the colony of the Rachni are in a bad state, so the Rachni Colony is about to die.
> 
> (Also guess who messed up Soldier and Brood Warrior info? I did, that was me, my b'. )


End file.
